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A Kitchen Solvers display shows what can be accomplished with cabinet refacing.

David Leach’s Build Pro Construction business in Raleigh, N.C., has worked on more than 8,000 units since 2003, handling drywall installation, painting, light framing and remodeling work for homes, apartments, churches and recreation centers.

All of that work opened his eyes to a big opportunity: Kitchen remodeling. Kitchens and baths are the No. 1 remodeling project in the United States, accounting for $75 billion a year in spending, and Leach wanted to grab a slice of that market.

He did it by buying a Kitchen Solvers cabinet refacing franchise.

Since he already does framing, drywall and painting, Leach’s existing business already made him a perfect candidate for handling major kitchen remodels that involve moving walls and changing the layout of a kitchen. By adding Kitchen Solvers, he made himself more competitive for smaller and mid-range projects, which have become more common as homeowner’s have tightened spending in the wake of the recession.

Kitchen Solvers has three decades of experience in kitchen remodeling and pioneered high-quality cabinet refacing. Kitchen Solvers is one of the few businesses that are adept at both types of remodeling, and that expertise allows customers to have more options and more control over their project’s scope and budget.

Kitchen Solvers offers extensive training and marketing to make your business more efficient, and uses the cooperative buying power of its 68 franchises to secure deep discounts on materials from suppliers, which allows franchise owners to compete for jobs on price without cutting into their profit margins.

“We give our owners big advantages over other remodeling firms,” says Kitchen Solvers President Gerry Henley. “By offering training and support and material discounts, as well as a network of other franchise owners you can learn from, we help people succeed — whether this is their first business or something new that they’re wanting to add on.”

How Kitchen Solvers has gained an advantage

Kitchen Solvers’ cabinet refacing process involves stripping cabinets down to the sturdy boxes, removing old doors and drawers, then attaching furniture-grade plywood to the old cabinet boxes and staining it to match customer preferences. New cabinet doors and drawers are then added to complete the remodel, which looks like a brand new kitchen at a fraction of the cost of a traditional “gut and rebuild” remodel.

The thriftiness of cabinet refacing offers a timely advantage for Kitchen Solvers franchise owners. Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies reports that the remodeling industry is in the beginning of what it expects to be a decade-long boom, with remodeling spending growing by 5.9 percent in 2012 and growth expected to accelerate to 12.2 percent in early 2013. At the same time, though, per-project spending is down slightly. The reason is simple: People are much more value-driven in the wake of the Great Recession.

Remodeling businesses that cater to value-driven customers stand to benefit from the growth trend, which is driven by:

• Homeowners tackling a huge backlog of remodeling projects they put off during the recession.

• Banks unloading foreclosured properties at bargain-basement prices, which are being snapped up by deal seekers who are pouring some of their cost savings into big remodeling projects.

• Baby Boomers hitting retirement age, and either fixing up their homes for retirement or downsizing and selling to younger buyers eager to remodel.

Learn more

To learn more about Kitchen Solvers, including its low startup costs and how it can be operated as a home-based business, check out our research pages at www.KitchenSolvers.com. To read what our customers and franchise owners have to say, check out our blog. You can learn even more, and start a conversation about whether Kitchen Solvers is the right business for you, by downloading our free franchise report.